I am strongly recommending that you gather up your children, select some coloured papers, markers, scissors, glue and a few little decorations and spend the time with them to help them create those special Valentines Day cards.

Here is a helping hand for you – just click on the link or the picture and plan to make memories!

Make Valentines Day Cards

Easy Valentines Day Crafts

Enjoy making these and have a wonderful Valentines Day!

I have put together a list of recipes suitable for what you choose to do – just click on the link or the picture to get the complete ingredients and instructions. Enjoy!

Special Valentines Day Breakfast

Romantic Valentines Day Dinner

Valentines Day Sweets

If you like these recipes, make sure you download my FREE Mama Knows Valentines Day ebook! You will find more recipes, plus crafts and other great ideas for this year’s day of love

]]> http://www.mama-knows.com/featured-articles/great-valentines-day-recipes.html/feed 0 http://www.mama-knows.com/featured-articles/the-best-valentines-day-ideas.html http://www.mama-knows.com/featured-articles/the-best-valentines-day-ideas.html#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:03:59 +0000 Hanna Trafford http://www.mama-knows.com/?p=6786 One of the nicest days of the year – a day when you get to tell people that you love them – in case you don’t do it often enough. There are a number of ways to do that – saying is the nicest one, but on February 14th, we all get to do just a little bit more. Here is some help for you – ideas and tips on how to organize a party, what to do to create that special thoughtful gift, how to create that special centerpiece for you romantic dinner, what you need to look for when you are choosing those beautiful Valentines Day roses or what movies you could pick up for your romantic evening at home.

It’s all here for you – just click on the links for pages you need detailed information from and enjoy your special Valentines Day!

How to Plan Your Valentines Day Party

Valentines Day Gift Ideas

Valentines Day Centerpieces

How to Choose Your Valentines Day Rose

Best Romantic Movies

Have a wonderful and loving Valentines Day and please send me your comments, suggestions and experiences – your input is very welcomed and much appreciated!

While it is very nice to give something special and do something special on this day for the one you love, it is equally, if not more important to remember to let him or her know every day just what they mean to you. And it absolutely doesn’t mean buying flower or chocolates on regular basis – you can save that for Valentines Day – it means saying and doing things that mean a  lot to the other person. I personally consider myself very fortunate – being married to my husband for almost 14 years now, I swear to you that there has not been one day that he wouldn’t tell me that he loves me. It may not seem like a lot  or it may seem like too much, but honestly, he has this timing thing happening – knows just when to say it. And you want to know what he did this morning? I got up after he left for work and on the kitchen counter was a fresh pot of coffee , my favourite coffee mug with a card on top of it. The card was just a pink piece of paper with :

I

U

And my favourite Valentines Day memory? It was actually our second Valentines Day together – David showed up at home after work carrying a bottle of my favourite red wine and a copy of Gone with the Wind. And let me assure you – he doesn’t really like red wine and definitely stays away from what he classes as a “chick flick”. But he had a glass of wine with me and patiently watched the entire movie. Honestly – that’s love!

So – think for a little while – roses, chocolates and all the other stuff are great, but everyone can do something that will truly mean something special to the other person. Without excuses and without doing it just because the commercial world says so!

If you need a little help, check out other posts on this website:

Easy Valentines Day Crafts

Valentines Day Dinner Recipes

How to Choose Your Valentines Day Roses

Best Romantic Movies

Say I Love You In Any Language

Have a wonderful Valentines Day and please feel free to comment and send in your suggestions and experiences

Here are a few cards I like – they are very easy to make and I hope you will enjoy the task!

Thumbprint Card

What You Will Need:

• ½ sheet of pink construction paper
• Red acrylic paint
• White paint pen, white paint, or tiny wiggle eyes
• Black fine point marker

Directions:

1. Fold the half sheet of construction paper in half and crease to create your card.
2. Dip thumb in red paint and press onto card at a slight angle to the right. Repeat on the left, lining up the bottom of your thumb with the bottom of the first thumb print. This should create a heart shape. Let the thumbprint dry.
3. Use a black marker to write a Valentine greeting on the front of the card.
4. Add arms and legs with the black marker. Use a white paint pen to dot on two eyes. 
5. When white is dry, add two black dots to the two whites with black marker.
6. Write a message inside the card.

Tips:

1. If you don’t have a white paint pen, you can dot on white paint with a toothpick or the handle end of a small paint brush. 
2. Instead of construction paper, you can use colourful card stock for this project.
3. Construction paper provides hours of fun and stimulates your child’s imagination!

Lots of Hugs

What You Will Need:

• Green cardstock cut to 5 ½” x 8 1/2”
• Patterned paper cut to 5” x 4”
• Pale purple cardstock
• Adhesive, such as double-sided sticky tape, glue stick, liquid glue or mini glue dots
• Scissors
• Several pieces of pink and purple cardstock, about 3” x 4”
• Heart stamps and ink, or stickers
• Spiral paperclip

Directions:

1. Fold green cardstock in half.
2. Glue patterned paper to green cardstock.
3. Stamp, write or print “(((hugs)))”on the pale purple cardstock. Cut out and glue to the patterned paper.
4. Write your Valentine message inside the card.
5. Write personalized “hug IOUs” on the 3” x 4” pieces of cardstock. Decorate with stamps or stickers. Use the paperclip to hold them inside the card.

Tips:

• Have some fun with other emoticons, such as (kiss, kiss) or :-{} (blowing a kiss). Or, put the recipient’s name inside the hug brackets.
• Use some of the patterned paper from the outside of the card on the IOUs.
• Spiral paperclips add a special touch and are available in a variety of colors at craft stores in packages of 20 or 50.
• If you don’t want to use a paperclip, glue a piece of paper inside the card to act as a pocket.

Love You Lollipop

What You Will Need:

• Pink coloured glitter glue
• White cardstock
• 1 wooden skewer
• Coloured strips of ribbon (2) 1/4″ and (1) 1/8″ wide
• Large plastic clear crystals
• Pencil
• Glue gun
• Heart-shaped polystyrene/craft foam
• White glue
• Scissors

Directions:

Card Template

1. Fold white cardstock in half.
2. Trace polystyrene heart onto cardstock.
3. Cut out heart leaving a fold line at top of card. Make sure the card heart shape is small enough to fit nicely on the front of the polystyrene heart.

Step 2:  Making the Heart

1. Glue heart card to front of heart-shaped polystyrene using white glue.
2. Cover the front and sides of heart shaped styrofoam with pink glitter glue.
3. Dip styrofoam heart in a bowl of plastic clear crystals. Let it dry.
4. Cover back of card with pink glitter glue.
5. Dip again in clear plastic crystals. Let it dry.

Step 3: Lollipop Stick

1. Twist and glue one piece of 1/4″x10″ coloured ribbon around stick.
2. Twist and glue a second piece of 1/8″x10″ coloured ribbon around stick.
3. Trim off excess ribbon.
4. Pierce tip of skewer into bottom end of polystyrene heart.
5. Glue a piece of 1/4″x 7″ribbon end to inside front bottom card.
6. Glue a piece 1/8″ x 7″ ribbon end to the back inside bottom card.
7. Tie both ribbons together.
8. Cut a piece of 1/4″x 15″ ribbon.
9. Tie a bow around the base of heart. 

Scroll Surprise

What You Will Need:

• 3/8″ x 7′’wooden dowel
• Two 3/8″ wooden caps
• 1/4″x 40″ ribbon
• 3-D fabric paint
• Green paper
• Two medium-sized beads
• Two small-sized pearl beads
• Design paper
• Wood glue
• Scissors
• Glue gun
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Heart-shaped paper hole puncher
• Watered-down glue

Directions:

Step 1: Cutouts

1. Cut out 6″ x 11″ rectangle with design paper.
2. Cut the ¼” sized ribbon in half–making two pieces of 20″ ribbon.
3. Cut out 16 hearts using heart paper hole puncher or cut by hand.
4. Cut a 7″ dowel.

Step 2 : Scroll/Ribbon

1. Place a small amount of glue in the hole of each cap.
2. Place a cap on each ends of dowel.
3. Glue one ribbon end to each end of the dowel.
4. Glue one 6″ side of the 6″x 11″ rectangle along dowel. Wait until glue sets.
5. Wrap paper around dowel. Use a little glue to keep paper in place. Wrap the loose ribbons around the covered dowel and tie the ribbons together with a bow in the middle.

Step 3: Designing Caps

1. Glue medium-sized beads on each end of scroll.
2. Glue small-sized pearls on top of medium beads (let it dry).
3. Apply small dots around end caps using 3-D fabric paint (let it dry).
4. Glue green heart cutouts on caps using watered down glue.

Key To My Heart

What You Will Need:

• Design cardstock
• 1/4″ x 20″ cream-colored ribbon
• Antique key
• Medium-sized pearl
• 6 small rhinestones
• Gold thread
• Glue gun
• Hole puncher
• Velvet fabric
• Fabric filler
• Cardboard
• Watered down glue
• Small paint brush

Directions:

Step 1:   Card Template

1. Cut out two  5″ x 7″ rectangles with design cardstock.
2. Cut out a 2 ½” heart from cardboard.
3. Cut out 3 ½” heart from fabric.

Step 2:  Heart pillow

1. Wrap heart-shaped fabric around cardboard heart.
2. Glue fabric to back of cardboard heart with glue gun.
3. Leave 1 ½” on one side of heart unglued.
4. Stuff heart with small amount of fabric filler.
5. Glue open seam on back of heart closed.
6. Tie a small bow with 1/4″ ribbon.
7. Glue bow to top of heart with glue gun.
8. Glue medium sized pearl below the center of the bow with glue gun.

Step 3:  Key

1. Tie gold thread to the key. Cut thread.
2. Glue the free end of the gold thread on the backside of the padded heart.

Step 4:  Card

1. Place the 5″ x 7″ rectangles of cardstock together to make the card. Make sure the design side is visable on both sides. 
2. Punch (7) even-spaced holes along left edge of card with hole puncher.
3. Lace 1/4″ ribbon through each hole from top to bottom and back to top
4. Glue ribbon ends on inside of card at top.
5. Glue padded heart on front center at 1 ½” from top of card with glue gun.
6. Glue rhinestones to the front of card with watered down glue

Butterfly Kisses

What You Will Need:

• White cardstock cut to 5 ½” x 8 1/2”
• Scraps of patterned pink paper
• Scrap of patterned brown paper
• Pink cardstock
• Black or brown fine-tip marker
• Adhesive such as double-sided sticky tape, glue stick, liquid glue or mini glue dots
• Scissors

Directions:

1. Fold white cardstock in half.
2. Use your scissors to freehand cut two teardrop-shaped pieces, about 2 inches long, from the pink patterned paper. These are the top wings of the butterfly.
3. Use your scissors to freehand cut two more teardrop-shaped pieces, about 1.5 inches long, from the pink patterned paper. These are the bottom wings of the butterfly.
4. Use your scissors to freehand cut a strip of brown patterned paper, about 2 ¼ inches long. Round one end and make the other end pointed. This is the body of your butterfly.
5. Glue the teardrop pieces to the white cardstock, pointy side to the middle. Glue the body over top of the wings.
6. Use the fine-tip marker to draw curly antennae.
7. Stamp, write or print off “Sending you butterfly kisses on Valentine’s Day!” on the pink cardstock. Cut out and glue to the white cardstock on an angle.

Tips:

• Chose white cardstock with a bit of fleck pattern to it—it’s more interesting than plain white cardstock.
• Keep an eye out for different sources of paper and cardstock. For example, the patterned paper of the butterfly is actually from a magazine ad (printed on a card like a magazine subscription card) that shows the new tweed patterns of a widely available pair of canvas tennis shoes.
• Thinner cardstock (which is also less expensive) tends to work better in home printers. Look for it at office supply stores.
• To give the feeling of a fluttering butterfly, choose a font that has the letters following a wave pattern, rather than a straight line.

I hope you have lots of fun making these cards and please send in your comments. suggestions and experiences – your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated

I really believe in making things with your own hands, giving some thought to it, getting creative juices running and involving kids in the works . Here is a few I put together for you -  easy to make and you can have fun doing it and mostly – have fun giving the special treats!

…

Special Red Roses

Nothing much says :I love You, then a single red rose! This one is easy to make and when you attach personalized tag to your rose, it can quickly become treasured keepsakes for members of you family!

What You Will Need::

• Green chenille stems (per flower)
• Red craft foam
• Scissors
• White craft glue or hot glue gun

Directions:

1. Set aside half the chenille stem for a later step. Take the full chenille stem and bend it in half. Starting at the bent end, twist the chenille stem around itself all the way up. When you reach the end trim it to make it even if needed.
2. Cut out 1″ tear drop shapes from the red foam, you will need 7 of these.
3. Cut out ¾” tear drop shapes from the red foam, you will need 3 of these.
4. Lay a 1″ tear drop on the table, point side down. Glue the open end of the twisted chenille stem to the red tear drop petal.
5. Glue a second tear drop behind the first tear drop (point side down), most of the tear drop in back will be visible. Repeat on the other side. Repeat again on each side, gluing them in a curved fashion (similar to a half circle). When you are done there should be one petal in the middle and 3 on each side.
6. Glue one of the smaller tear drop petals on top of the green chenille stem. Glue the other two smaller petals overlapping the first one, point side down.
7. Once these are all dry, bend and curve the foam petals to join both rounded sides together to form the flower. Glue in place and hold until dry, hot glue comes in handy here.
8. Use the ½ chenille stem to bend the leaves into shape and twist around the stem.

Friendship Box

Sometimes it’s not the actual gift, but the message that it brings that is most cherished. This friendship box is great for showing how much your friends and family mean to you.

What You Will  Need:

• 1 Empty box, any size
• Valentine themed wrapping paper or pink/red construction paper
• Pink construction paper
• White paper for poem
• White craft glue
• White ribbon
• Scissors

Directions:

1. Wrap the empty box in wrapping paper or construction paper.
2. Tie white ribbon around the box and tie into a bow on the top.
3. Print out the poem below.
4. Trim the poem and glue the trimmed poem to pink construction paper.
5. Trim the pink construction paper to give it an even border all the way around.
6. Glue the poem to the box.

Friendship Box Poem
Inside this fancy little box
I placed a gift so nice
You’ll probably always cherish it
Not even thinking twice

Now even though this box I give
Holds nothing you can touch
I’ve placed inside our friendship
It’s you I like so much!

Soft and Puffy Heart

Not only can you use this adorable craft to write a special message on the back, it can also be turned into a very special dinner table decoration!

What You Will Need:

• Pink and white tissue paper, cut into 1″ squares
• White craft glue
• Scissors
• Piece of card stock or construction paper
• Pencil with an eraser

Directions:

1. Cut out a heart shape from the construction paper or card stock.
2. Put white craft glue into the center of the heart, shaped like a heart.
3. Using the eraser end of a pencil, place the eraser into the center of a white tissue paper square. Twist the tissue paper square around the eraser and dot it onto the glue. Continue this process until entire middle of the heart is covered with white tissue paper. See photo.
4. Repeat the process from step #3 with pink tissue paper for the border of the heart.
5. Glue a hanger to the back if you like.

Tips:

• For younger kids who have trouble working the pencil steps, allow them to wad up the tissue paper squares and press them directly onto the glue with their fingers.
• Instead of a hanger, try gluing a magnet strip to the back and hang on your fridge!
• Always saved the tissue paper from birthday gifts for craft projects like these.

Lollipop Love

This adorable piece will not take you very long to make – engage your children to help and use to send people or use as decorations for your home or your table!

What You Will Need:

• Pink coloured glitter glue
• White cardstock
• 1 wooden skewer
• Coloured strips of ribbon (2) 1/4″ and (1) 1/8″ wide
• Large plastic clear crystals
• Pencil
• Glue gun
• Heart-shaped polystyrene/craft foam
• White glue
• Scissors

Directions:

Card Template 

1. Fold white cardstock in half.
2. Trace polystyrene heart onto cardstock.
3. Cut out heart leaving a fold line at top of card. Make sure the card heart shape is small enough to fit nicely on the front of the polystyrene heart.

Step 2:  Making the Heart

1. Glue heart card to front of heart-shaped polystyrene using white glue.
2. Cover the front and sides of heart shaped styrofoam with pink glitter glue.
3. Dip styrofoam heart in a bowl of plastic clear crystals. Let it dry.
4. Cover back of card with pink glitter glue.
5. Dip again in clear plastic crystals. Let it dry.

Step 3: Lollipop Stick

1. Twist and glue one piece of 1/4″x10″ coloured ribbon around stick.
2. Twist and glue a second piece of 1/8″x10″ coloured ribbon around stick.
3. Trim off excess ribbon.
4. Pierce tip of skewer into bottom end of polystyrene heart.
5. Glue a piece of 1/4″x 7″ribbon end to inside front bottom card.
6. Glue a piece 1/8″ x 7″ ribbon end to the back inside bottom card.
7. Tie both ribbons together.
8. Cut a piece of 1/4″x 15″ ribbon.
9. Tie a bow around the base of heart.

Key to Your Heart

One of my personal favourites and again – your creativity will make it special!

What You Will Need:

• Design cardstock
• 1/4″ x 20″ cream-colored ribbon
• Antique key
• Medium-sized pearl
• 6 small rhinestones
• Gold thread
• Glue gun
• Hole puncher
• Velvet fabric
• Fabric filler
• Cardboard
• Watered down glue
• Small paint brush

Directions:

Step 1:   Card Template 

1. Cut out two  5″ x 7″ rectangles with design cardstock.
2. Cut out a 2 ½” heart from cardboard.
3. Cut out 3 ½” heart from fabric.

Step 2:  Heart pillow

1. Wrap heart-shaped fabric around cardboard heart.
2. Glue fabric to back of cardboard heart with glue gun.
3. Leave 1 ½” on one side of heart unglued.
4. Stuff heart with small amount of fabric filler.
5. Glue open seam on back of heart closed.
6. Tie a small bow with 1/4″ ribbon.
7. Glue bow to top of heart with glue gun.
8. Glue medium sized pearl below the center of the bow with glue gun.

Step 3:  Key

1. Tie gold thread to the key. Cut thread.
2. Glue the free end of the gold thread on the backside of the padded heart.

Step 4:  Card

1. Place the 5″ x 7″ rectangles of cardstock together to make the card. Make sure the design side is visable on both sides.
2. Punch (7) even-spaced holes along left edge of card with hole puncher.
3. Lace 1/4″ ribbon through each hole from top to bottom and back to top
4. Glue ribbon ends on inside of card at top.
5. Glue padded heart on front center at 1 ½” from top of card with glue gun.
6. Glue rhinestones to the front of card with watered down glue

Enjoy making these pretty keepsakes ad please send in your comments, suggestions and ideas. Your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated!

Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays for people to send and receive e-mails and e-mail cards. And those happen to be the favourite ways for the bad guys to get into your computer system.

DO – be vary of any any Valentines Day e-cards or special offers that show up in your inbox. The messages may look legitimate but can easily infect your computer with malware. And never, never divulge your personal information!

DO NOT – open unsolicited emails or click on links in received messages – unless you know where it came from. And that includes messages that are forwarded to you from someone you know – but the original email came from a person you do not know. The message may have a subject  you get curious about, but resist the temptation and you won’t be risking anything.

DO – think and trust your instincts and do some investigation if you have a suspicion that what you are receiving may be something other than innocent message. You may want to check helpful websites – like Hallmark, where you will find good information about the validity of electronic greetings. Just click on the image below to get to the Hallmark e-cards site:

So – remember that Valentines Day  is a day not only for  gifts of flowers and nice gifts – it is also a day for scams.

Hope you found this information helpful – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and much appreciated

Here are a few ideas that are easy to make, are quite inexpensive and definitely are a bit different:

I Am Nuts About You:

You can add a card with this statement to this gift – in your handwriting of course! Just get a nice jar or a gift box, fill it with his favourite nuts and there you go – how easy was that? Personally, I would use chocolate covered almonds, they are my husband’s favourite, but you can use any nuts or a nut mixture.

Love You To Pieces:

How about getting a large print of a photo of the two of you and cutting it into a puzzle? You can then put the pieces into a nice little gift box, put a fancy ribbon on it and you will have a gift that he will remember for a long time

You Complete Me:

We all know that famous line from Jerry McGuire – it really stuck ion many, many minds and is no doubt being used over and over. But – borrow the idea from above gift and same as in Love You To Pieces, grab your favourite picture, get a large print – and you can even add the statement into the picture. Then cut into puzzle pieces, break the pieces into a gift box, adorn with a gift ribbon and you have yet another creative gift for him!

If you don’t feel like either one of the above suggestions are good for what you would like to give, here is a list of the most popular Valentines Day gifts for a man:

1. Chocolates – apparently because they are a noncommittal gift. It should be a good quality box of chocolates and if you are not sure about what kind of chocolates, get the assorted ones.
2. Dog Treats – if there is four legged buddy in the picture, why not get a nice box of healthy treats? Just make sure he doesn’t think they are cookies for him…..
3. Flowers – personally, I don’t see anything wrong with giving guy flowers – they shouldn’t be roses, but how about a nice exotic flowering orchids or a bunch of fragrant gardenias?
4. A Pendant  – it could be a heart shaped one and doesn’t have to be gold. If it has your initial in it….that much nicer!
5. Hand-dipped strawberries – and I don’t have to tell you that the way to give them would be to feed them to him along with offering sips of champagne – now that is a pretty romantic move!
6. Probably the best one and one of my favourite ones – Bed and Breakfast Getaway is great for both of you. Offering a mix of comfort and luxury, lot of destination will offer specials and special treats for Valentines Day.

Hope these ideas will help you find that perfect Valentines Day gift for him – please send in your comments and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated

Need a helping hand? Here are some tips of how to write a love letter:

1. Clear your desk or your table and most importantly – clear your mind of distractions. You don’t want to do this watching TV, your loved one deserves your complete attention.
2. Find your favourite picture of your loved on and put it in front of you
3. It will help if you put on some music, preferably your favourite tunes
4. I am thinking you already have special stationery in mind as well as your favourite pen
5. You will need another sheet of paper – on this one, make two lists: One to list the unique qualities of your loved one and on the other list, write your hopes for your future together
6. Think hard of what salutation you are going to use. Starting with ear____, or using your favourite way to address him or her
7. Then start writing your letter: start by telling him/her what makes them so special to you. You should list at least three different qualities, best to go with emotional, spiritual and physical
8. Next – share your hopes and dreams for your future together
9. To end the letter, close with something like “I will love you forever”, or go ahead and use my favourite: “Love you forever and a day”
10. Finish by signing the letter (you definitely do not want to forget that!), lightly spraying with a fragrance you use
11. If you are mailing your love letter, you may want to pick a special stamp in the post office and try your best to figure out the delivery time so your loved one receives it in desired time.

Good luck with this endeavour – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated

But it would have to be a real treat, right?

Believe it or not, there are some incredible destinations that are actually easier and less expensive to enjoy than you may think. It will not likely work for you if you wait and keep watching the last minute deals – you will be gambling and may end up not getting what you are hoping for.

I have found a couple of great travel sites – Demeure and Jetsetter. Both list destinations that will satisfy even the most demanding traveler and give you incredible options in your search for the perfect romantic getaway.

Mama's Picks: The most beautiful romantic Valentine's day getaways.

I took some time and put together my Top Five Romantic Valentine’s Day Getaways, but I would strongly recommend that you visit Demeure Travel or Jetsetter and find out just how easy and worry-free it is to book your travel.

Both travel clubs provide travel planning (such a great way to save time), great discounts and access to properties that aren’t generally found on other listing sites.

When me and my husband plan a romantic getaway, there are a few things we want: a nice and cozy location, discounted cost, a show or romantic dinner planned for us, and a selection of wines. We only ever get to get away for a few days at most (3 days and 2 nights) so long term Valentine’s Day getaways are out of the question.

Having said all of that, let’s dive into my personal top five romantic Valentine’s getaways. You will get detailed information about the destination when you click on the picture:

Number 5 : Cellphones not permitted.

Ali'i Villa, Hawaii

Ali’i Villa is a perfect mix of luxury and casual elegance. Imagine experiencing beautiful Hawaii sunset or totally enjoying outdoor volcanic shower.

For those of you on the West Coast, Hawaii is only a hop skip and jump away. If you’re thinking of getting away to get the spark re-ignited (and taking a brief break from the day to day grind) then I would strongly suggest Hawaii. One of my personal favorites is an island sunset cruise.

This is a perfect romantic getaway for sure.

 

 

Number 4 : Fairways can  be romantic

PGA West, California

 

Spectacular mountainview scenery you can enjoy from your own pool is only the start of what this fantastic location has to offer. You can sit right next to #16 fairway of the Jack Nicklaus golf course and watch others golf. Or you can choose to participate by booking your tee times at a great selection of championship courses in the same area. After the game, you can cool down in the oversized pool, relax in a hot tub or sip a nice glass of something by your own fire pit . Me and my husband are golf fanatics, so playing a round or two of golf definitely fits into the parameters of a romantic getaway.

Having been married for many years, one great piece of advice is to focus your getaway on mutual hobbies, activities or interests. Busy schedules and constant running around sometimes make us forget that we can connect on different levels (and it isn’t always about a candlelit dinner!)

Number 3 : Baby it’s cold outside.

Mountain Thunder Lodge, Colorado

A great way to get some cuddle time is to go somewhere a bit colder and then just make sure there is a  roaring fire and a bottle of good wine. I’m not big into skiing or snowboarding but Mountain Thunder, Colorado definitely gets the spark going. If you’re after a winter paradise with all the luxuries you can imagine – this “cozy” spot in the mountains of Colorado could be your favorite getaway for years to come. With 2,100 sq.ft. of living space, complete with fireplace and spectacular mountain view -  Mountain Thunder. will not dissapoint.

Number 2: Take a deep breath 

Hermosa Inn, Paradise Valley, Arizona

How could you not enjoy visiting this incredible place?  Located near Scottosdale, this is truly a romantic and a true boutique style hotel.  And they grow large portion of what they serve in their exclusive restaurant right in their own gardens! Speaking of the restaurant - Lon’s at Hermosa Inn, it is one of the last remaining original haciendas in Arizona. And what I really like about this beauty is that they welcome your furry friends – so you don’t have to worry that you spdcial four-legged buddy will have to spend time in the kennel while you are enjoying your romantic getaway!

Number 1: Enter another world

Kona Village in beautiful Hawaii

 There is just something very special about Hawaii – maybe it is magic, I don’t really know. What I do know that you will experience something very close to magic, when you enter the spectacular, private and almost untouched by civilization Kona Village. This was formerly a fishing village, but these days it is miles away from being primitive. Located on the Big Island’s west coast, it will offer you all required elements for  the best romantic adventure ever. And – no phones, no internet, no television… only you and your special someone,  relaxing in a thatch-roofed bungalow by ocean view, that will take your breath away. Ahhh – I think I am in love…..

Yes – this is the way to travel – hope you have enjoyed finding out all about these incredible locations. You will find more detailed information about these locations if you visit either Demeure Travel or Jetsetter sites.

Have fun and have a very special Valentines day!